1. Field of the Disclosure
The present disclosure is generally directed to child entertainment devices, and more particularly to an inflatable activity center for a child.
2. Description of Related Art
Parents have long dealt with the problem of entertaining and stimulating their infants and toddlers. Many devices are known in the art that attempt to accomplish these goals. One type of product that is commonly used for infants and young toddlers is known as an activity center or entertainer. A typical entertainer has a generally cylindrical upper tray with a top opening. A sling seat is typically positioned in the opening to support a child in a standing position. The upper tray is supported above a ground surface so that the infant can play with various toys and other objects on the tray. A typical activity center is formed of hard plastic material and is fairly large. Thus, the activity center takes up a lot of room and is difficult to store when not in use.
Some activity centers permit a child to jump or bounce up or down within the central opening of the upper tray and have wheels or feet that can resiliently move up and down. Some activity centers also permit the child to move or walk within the activity center, if their feet can touch the ground. However, known child activity centers are typically configured to accommodate children within a relatively small size and weight range. As an infant grows, they outgrow the activity center. Caregivers are forced to store the activity center or hand off the activity center to another family because it is no longer of use to them. As noted above, the conventional activity center is relatively large and difficult to store and, thus, takes up a lot of space within the home. When transported, such as when the activity center is handed off to another family, the activity center is difficult to transport because of its relative large size. Additionally, families that are currently using an activity center typically will not travel with the activity center because of the relative large size. Thus, the activity centers are typically only enjoyed within the home environment.
Conventional activity centers also are typically relatively noisy when being used because of the nature of the hard plastic material used to form the product. Additionally, conventional activity centers can cause an occasional bruise or bump when an infant contacts the hard plastic material during play, either when playing in the activity center or merely playing around the activity center.